I Choose You
by Angelikah
Summary: At the age of 17, Caroline starts her Pokémon journey with the goal of beating the Elite Four and catching every single Pokémon. Klaus tags along, just hoping to catch her. Klaroline. Pokémon/TVD Crossover.
1. The Journey Begins

A/N: This story is going up very early and it might be quite a bit of time between updates. Please note that there will be things that don't exist or are incongruent with Pokémon canon (starting the journey at 17 rather than 10, for instance), and I'd like you to do your best to suspend your disbelief. Unlike most of my other stories, this one will be heavily Klaroline-centric with little or no interaction with other characters except in passing (much like in the pokemon show).  
I hope you enjoy this.  
Thank you to D and Sophie for beta-work.  
-Angie

* * *

"Caroline? Aren't you tired?"

Caroline looked up from her Pokémon textbook to see her mom standing in the doorway.

"I don't think I can sleep. I'm too excited for tomorrow."

Liz came in and sat on the end of her bed, gently taking the textbook away and setting it on Caroline's desk. "When I went on my Pokémon journey, it was a lot of walking. If you're going to head out tomorrow, you should probably savor the last time you'll sleep in an actual bed for quite a while."

"I guess so."

"Have you thought about if you're going to go with anyone?"

"Not Elena," Caroline said decisively, making her mother smile.

"I thought not. You've never gotten along. Maybe Bonnie or Katherine, though?"

Caroline shrugged. "I might just go alone."

"It would be good to have someone around to help you. I know you can take care of yourself, but it's always good to have an extra hand."

"I guess."

"Well, we'll see in the morning when you get your Pokémon. Did you pack already?"

Caroline nodded. "And triple checked everything."

Liz smiled softly. "Of course you did. Well, make sure to set your alarm just in case you do end up sleeping."

"I know."

Caroline watched her mother leave and turned over slightly in her bed. She was honestly both excited for the next day and positively _dreading_ it. It was the beginning of summer, which was the ideal time to start traveling because they could get pretty far on the road before winter came.

Usually friends traveled together, and she had been looking forward to traveling with Bonnie and Katherine for a while, but she felt like they were drifting apart as they got closer to their journeys starting, especially after Caroline and Matt had broken up. She didn't want to travel alone, but at the same time she didn't want to ask for someone to come with her either.

She couldn't show weakness.

Caroline tossed and turned for a while before finally falling into an uneasy sleep.

 **XXX**

Caroline tied her hair up carefully and took a deep breath, checking her bag of supplies for the last time before mounting her bike and heading to the local professor's lab, where she'd get her first Pokémon.

She arrived about half an hour early, just to be sure that she'd be able to get her first choice (no matter how well that Ash kid turned out, she wasn't about to leave it up to chance).

"Caroline," she heard the bane of her existence greet from behind her.

"Klaus," she said turning to him.

"Are you excited to leave town?"

"Yes."

"Do you have anyone to travel with?"

"It doesn't matter, since I'm not going with you."

"Funny, I didn't even offer and that's where your mind automatically went," he said lightly, giving her a dimpled smile.

She huffed, turning back to the front entrance to wait for the professor to open the doors, but realized that her compulsive need to be early had made her vulnerable to a conversation with Klaus (since she couldn't exactly leave). He always seemed to pop up at the times when she most needed to calm down and then give her the wide smile and witty comments and irritate her on purpose (which, granted, was better than the nervousness she'd been feeling).

"What are your plans?"

"To leave," she said shortly.

"Oh, I know that, love. I meant to ask where you're headed."

"Why, so you can stalk me?"

"I was thinking more along the lines of traveling together for a bit until we're both more comfortable on our own."

"Yeah, no. No way."

He shrugged. "Can't blame a bloke for trying, love."

"Oh, I _so_ can."

He was an arrogant ass, though he had shown the potential to be a decent human being before (at least in her presence; everyone else seemed to loathe him). She could see his dimpled smile in her mind's eye despite the fact that she wasn't looking at him, and she wished, not for the first time, that he wasn't so damn attractive.

That way she wouldn't be so tempted to take him up on his offer.

They stood in awkward silence for a moment before he spoke again. "Do you know which Pokémon you're going to choose?"

"Yeah. I've been thinking about it a lot."

"I'm sure. I don't think I can imagine you not thinking something through as thoroughly as possible if you have to make a decision, especially something as life changing as this."

She didn't know whether that was a compliment, but she decided to take it that way. "Have you chosen?"

"Yes."

"Which one?"

"I'll tell if you do."

She laughed, shaking her head. "Why do you want to know?"

"Why do you?"

She shrugged. "Just curious."

"So I'm not allowed to be curious about you, but it's perfectly fine for you to ask me questions? Seems like a double-standard to me."

"Maybe."

Their conversation was cut off by the arrival of Matt, Elena, Bonnie, and Katherine, who were all talking and joking together. Klaus just stood off to the side and nodded stiffly to them (he'd never gotten along with any of them), and Caroline gave them a half-hearted awkward wave, which only Bonnie and Katherine returned, while Matt looked away uncomfortably and Elena completely ignored.

"Good, you're all here."

Caroline looked up to see the professor in the doorway to the lab. They all murmured greetings, and the professor stood aside to let them in before leading the group of seventeen-year-olds to the lab.

"Caroline, you were here first, right?"

Caroline nodded, and the professor gestured toward the table of Pokéballs, which held two each for Charmander, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur.

She let her hand hover over her choice for a moment, feeling slightly anxious all of a sudden, but decided it was too late to back out now. After making her selection, she walked back to the rest of the group, who all were called up one by one.

After they'd all chosen, the professor gave them each a Pokédex and a trainer's handbook before sending them on their way.

Caroline walked out of the lab, clutching the Pokéball, and took a deep breath.

She was _so_ ready.

She grabbed her bike, which she'd ridden to the lab, and was about to mount it when Klaus called her name. She turned around, trying to keep the small smile off her face. "I told you, I don't need an escort"

He smiled slightly. "Not even just to the next town? We're all practically going to be on the same path anyway until Pewter City."

She nodded, acknowledging his point and biting her lip. "Fine. I'll meet you at the edge of the town on the path to Pewter in half an hour. If you're not there, I'll leave without you."

He gave her a wide dimpled smile, and she glared at him. "But no weird flirting or compliments, you keep your hands _completely_ to yourself, and you help out with the camp stuff."

"Of course, love. Wouldn't dream of accompanying you without pulling my weight."

"And no nicknames."

He just smirked, and she waited until she was pedaling off towards her house to smile.

 **XXX**

"Do you know where we're going?"

"Of course. I have a map," Caroline said irritably, stopping her bike to wave it in Klaus's face before starting to pedal again.

He sighed and followed her (which really wasn't all that unexpected, as pretty much everyone, including her, knew that he'd follow her almost anywhere). Of course, the fact that he was sure he was about seventy percent in love with her did not stop him from grumbling about her choice of route under his breath.

It was all his fault, really.

Caroline not liking him, not the route (that was _all_ on her horrid sense of direction).

Your first words to the girl you end up falling for should never run even close to, "You're rather confident to wear that dress in public."

Yeah, not his best move.

He hadn't meant it as an insult (though he also hadn't meant it as a compliment). He was just stating a fact. Straight and male as he may be, he did recognize what Rebekah called a "hot mess of a dress" when he saw one (perils of being the brother closest to Rebekah's age, other than her twin Kol who managed to avoid older brother duties such as "tea parties" by being annoying enough that Rebekah didn't want anything to do with him).

She'd warmed up to him slowly over the time they'd known each other (about four years), but that was all ruined about six months before when his brain had, again, not quite caught up to his mouth in time.

They had formed a tentative sort of friendship, and then she'd started dating Matt Donovan, and Klaus had made the mistake of saying something along the lines of, "He's not very bright, is he?"

He'd meant it in a 'he's not good enough for you' sort of way, but she'd taken it in the '...if he's dating you' sort of way.

Ever since then, she'd been giving him a rather well-deserved cold shoulder, and he was surprised that she'd even agreed to go on the trip with him (unless she was more receptive to his advances after all?).

Once she'd broken up with Matt (or, rather, he dumped her for the more boring of the Petrova twins), she'd been colder to him than usual, though he wasn't sure whether it was because he'd been right in the beginning or because she blamed him for the breakup.

Really though, it wasn't his fault that Elena had implied to Matt that Caroline might prefer his company (especially since Caroline had made a point of avoiding being alone with him).

Elena managed to spin that as her 'avoiding the prominent sexual tension' (the only thing the girl had ever been right about in her _life_ ), rather than adding the other half of the information, which was that Caroline was loyal to a fault, and she didn't want to risk her relationship.

Elijah had once asked him rather frustratedly why he cared for Caroline at all if she just rebuffed him, and it was a series of rather simple reasons. She intellectually challenged him, gave him the benefit of the doubt when he was a prick (which happened far more often than he'd like to admit), and always had a comeback to his comments.

He loved the way she smiled when she knew she had won (and he might have let her win a few times just so that he could see it).

He did also appreciate the way her tight shorts hugged her arse as her legs moved, as well as the spring of her blonde curls in the wind. They'd been traveling for over three hours now, and it was almost dusk. They had arrived at Viridian City briefly to stock up on supplies, neither bothering to stop to catch any Pokémon on the way (there would always be more, and it was more important to have the supplies needed so that they wouldn't have to return to the city too quickly), and Caroline had insisted that they camp a bit off the path in the Viridian Forest.

So, here they were biking through the forest to find a suitable campsite, both of them exhausted. Caroline stopped abruptly, and Klaus barely stopped in time to prevent himself from barreling into her.

She hopped off her bike and gestured for him to follow her, which he did, both of them wheeling their bikes to a small clearing. "This looks good."

He shrugged, willing to go along with her plan, and grabbed the zipped cylindrical bag that carried his tent. "Shall I set this up, then?"

"Sure. I'll get some wood for a fire."

"Are you sure you want to go out alone?"

He regretted his question when he saw the venomous look on her face, and put his hands up in the air to show surrender. "Sorry, love."

She rolled her eyes, not bothering to correct him, and walked a ways away, starting to grab sticks.

He pulled out his Pokéball and let out his new Squirtle, which looked at him questioningly. "We're camping here for the night," he explained. "I'm going to set up the tent."

Squirtle nodded and sat down next to him, looking at the tent as though expecting it to just assemble itself before cocking its head to the side as he looked at Klaus, clearly asking why he'd let it out if there wasn't a battle happening.  
"I thought you might want to stretch your legs."

Squirtle nodded before pointing at Caroline.

"That's Caroline. She's my...well, we went to school together. I convinced her to travel to Pewter City with me, and hopefully by then she'll want to stay."

Squirtle let out a bubble of sound that Klaus could only assume was a laugh, and Klaus rolled his eyes before gesturing to the ground. "Would you mind digging a hole and then perhaps grabbing a few rocks to make a fire pit?"

Squirtle nodded and toddled a few feet away before sitting down and beginning to dig.

By the time Caroline came back, her Charmander on her heels, both with bundles of sticks in their arms, Klaus had the tent set up and the fire pit ready.

Caroline dumped the sticks in the pit and grabbed a small portable pot from her bag, which Squirtle filled with water while Charmander started a fire with its tail and then sat down next to Caroline.

While they waited for the water to boil, Caroline and Klaus debated their options for heading to Pewter City while Charmander and Squirtle watched, their heads moving back and forth between the two teens as though watching a tennis match.

"I think it would be good to stay in the forest for a while and build up our Pokémon teams. Brock uses rock type Pokémon, and your Charmander is weak against that."

Charmander bristled, but Caroline rubbed its back consolingly. "I know, but there really aren't very many Pokémon I can catch that will be good for it. Except maybe if I caught a Caterpie and trained it to evolve into Butterfree."

"Exactly, which would take some time."

"Yeah, but we don't necessarily have to stay in the forest for that once I catch a Caterpie or a Metapod."

He shrugged. "I suppose not."

It would be easier though, and Caroline knew it. He suspected that she was _very_ aware that there was only one tent. They had two sleeping bags, and there was no way that she wouldn't build a nearly impenetrable pillow barrier between them, but there was still only one.

To be fair, Caroline technically also had a tent, but it was small and made of a cheaper material, which meant that if it rained (something that was common in the forest) she would be much more comfortable in Klaus's tent, which was a bit roomier with better shelter.

When he had first suggested this to her, she'd scoffed and glared, but she did eventually concede the point. He hoped that she knew him well enough to know that he'd never take advantage of her (not that excitement of having her in close quarters with him hadn't crossed his mind a time or ten), but he couldn't blame her for being nervous after Damon Salvatore had kissed her without any warning two years before (and swiftly earned himself a bruised shin).

He wouldn't be surprised if she kept Charmander out in the tent with them that night using some sort of excuse about needing light, and if she did he would make sure to keep Squirtle in its Pokéball. He didn't want her to feel threatened.

He offered to wash up if Caroline cooked, and she didn't seem to mind (though she did enlist him to help chop up vegetables). Once they'd finished the soup and he and Squirtle had cleaned up, they put out the fire and moved inside the tent. As Klaus had suspected, Caroline asked Charmander to stay out to keep them warm, and Klaus recalled Squirtle. They both settled down in their sleeping bags, and Caroline turned to him, lying down, her hair fanned out over her travel pillow.

"Remember. Hands to yourself."

"I know, love."

"Good."

 **XXX**

Caroline was incredibly relieved when she woke up _not_ cuddled into Klaus's chest. She tended to take over whatever area was available when she slept, and she knew that he would take it as a hint.

Which it wouldn't be.

 _Obviously_.

She sat up slowly, rubbing her eyes and turning to see Klaus shifting in his sleep. She smiled slightly and pulled a light sweatshirt on along with some sandals before moving out of the tent slowly, trying not to wake him. She took out one of the containers of cereal she'd stashed in her bag and munched on it lazily, enjoying the morning air around her. It was only another fifteen minutes before Klaus woke up, and he emerged from the tent, mumbling a greeting to her and grabbing an apple, taking a large bite. "I'm going to walk around a bit and see if I can find a river or something to take a quick bath."

"Squirtle could help out."

She wrinkled her nose. "Your Pokémon seeing me naked is almost equivalent to _you_ seeing me naked, so no thank you."

"Who said anything about you being naked?" he asked, his lips twitching, and she rolled her eyes, deciding not to respond.

He just gave her a dimpled smile. "All right. I'll stay here and watch the camp then. Do call if you change your mind."

Caroline gave her obligatory scoff and woke up Charmander, recalling him to the Pokéball and grabbing a small plastic bag of bath things, a towel, and some extra clothes before walking down the path toward where she was sure she'd heard the rush of water. She discovered a small river and stripped to her underwear, easing herself in, her teeth chattering at how cold the water was.

As she washed herself, she tried to reinforce the concept in her mind that Klaus was supposed to stay a friend (if he even was one). She knew he liked her, but up until recently she'd been dating Matt, who broke her heart. She wasn't sure she was ready for a relationship yet, or even a friend with benefits.

She didn't know how long she'd be able to hold out though.

Klaus was just as attractive as he was annoying (so _very_ ), and he had a way of bringing out the best and worst in her simultaneously. It was flattering to have someone whose interest stayed steady in her. Definitely an ego boost. And it wasn't like she was giving him false hope. She wasn't sending mixed signals, and she certainly wasn't taking advantage of him.

That didn't mean that a small part of her wasn't attracted to him, especially since he really was nice when he wasn't being a total douche. To be fair, he hadn't been rude to her since his comment about Matt, but Katherine and Bonnie hadn't been all that fond of him, and when your friends don't like someone, that's _usually_ a warning sign. Then again, Katherine and Bonnie had picked Matt and Elena over her, so their judgment was questionable anyway.

A part of her wanted to see where it would go, and she knew that she was often colder than she meant to be, but she was sure Klaus knew that she was at least a _bit_ fond of him, or he wouldn't stick around.

Okay, fine, she wasn't _exactly_ stringing him on, and she didn't like thinking about it as keeping her options open, but she'd sort of accepted that at some point they were going to be _a thing_. Whether it would be soon? Or even last once they tried? Those were the more important questions.

She just needed to hold off until they got to Pewter City, and then they'd both battle Brock and win, and then part ways.

It would only be a week or so, so nothing too hard to handle.

She dunked her head underwater, rinsing out the shampoo, before stepping out of the water and wrapping a towel around herself, humming.

She dressed quickly and gathered her things, making sure that Charmander's Pokéball was strapped firmly to her belt.

When she returned to camp, she found Klaus in the middle of packing up. "Where are you going?"

" _We_ are going to try to catch some Pokémon."

"Do I not get a say in this?" she asked, trying to sound annoyed, but cursing herself when her tone came out more as amused.

He seemed to notice and gave her a smug smile. "Of course. My apologies. Would you like to go catch some Pokémon?"

She rolled her eyes. "I guess."

"As the lady wishes."

She huffed and whacked him lightly in the arm before helping him finish packing up and mounting their bikes.

She biked behind him for a while before he stopped abruptly, covering her mouth with his hand when she started to yell at him for stopping, giving her an annoyed look before gesturing towards the small bird that was wandering in the grass.

"I saw it first love, apologies," he mumbled, and she shrugged, waving a hand for him to catch it.

He sent out Squirtle, and after a quick battle, he caught the Pidgey, beaming at his first catch.

"Congratulations," she said, a bit shyly.

"Thanks," he said, clearly unable to wipe the smile from his face.

 **XXX**

After about a half hour more of exploring, Caroline spotted a Caterpie hiding behind a nearby bush. She waved for Klaus to stop and held a finger to her lips before sending out Charmander. "Charmander, use Tackle."

Charmander obediently ran at the Caterpie, who looked up in surprise before it was tackled to the ground. It shot up and shot a stream of white sticky webbing at Charmander, who dodged and scratched at Caterpie with its claws.

Caterpie was moving a bit more slowly, and Caroline saw this as her chance, pulling out a Pokéball and throwing it.

The Caterpie was pulled into the ball, which swayed on the ground a few times before chiming to indicate that the catch had been successful.

She felt a bubble of happiness and excitement burst in her chest.

She'd caught her first Pokémon.

* * *

A/N: Thank you for reading! I hope you liked this first part. Do you like the Klaroline interactions so far? How do we feel about the starters they chose? Any predictions on when/how they'll get together? Let me know!  
Also, please do tell me if there's anything you'd especially like to see. No promises, but I only have this story about half-outlined, so there's definitely some wiggle room in terms of plot.  
Hugs!  
-Angie


	2. Who's That Pokémon?

**A/N: Thank you for all the reviews, follows,, and favorites! You guys are so sweet, and I'm so excited that people seem to be into this, 'cause I was a bit worried that people would think it's silly. Thank you to D, Wifey, and Sophie for beta work.  
More notes at the bottom. **  
**Hugs!**  
 **-Angie**

* * *

Caroline sat at the campsite with her Caterpie in her lap, playing peek-a-boo while Charmander sat next to her looking thoroughly bored.

"You realize that the Caterpie isn't a _baby,_ right?" Klaus said from behind her.

"Of course, but it's adorable and tiny and it's enjoying itself."

Caterpie purred contentedly, nuzzling Caroline's hand as she petted it.

"Have you checked the sex?"

Caroline wrinkled her nose. "Yes, but it doesn't really matter."

He shrugged. "Well, not to be...you know...sexist or anything, but Pokémon abilities occasionally grow differently depending on whether it's male or female."  
"I know that."

"Well?"

"She's a girl," Caroline said. "As is Charmander."

"Squirtle is male," Klaus said, sitting down next to her. "As is Pidgey."

"Don't let him eat Squiggles."

"Squiggles?" Klaus said, raising an eyebrow.

"That's what my Caterpie's name is."

"Aren't you going to be training it to be a Butterfree?"

"Yes."

"'Squiggles' for a Butterfree?"

"Yes," she said, slightly defensive. "Why? Do you have a better suggestion?"

"Margarine Expensive," he said, his lips twitching.

"Ha. You're funny," Caroline said dryly. "I'll stick with Squiggles."

"Ah. All right," he said slowly, giving 'Squiggles' a side-eye.

Squiggles just purred affectionately and curled up in Caroline's lap.

"Are you nicknaming your Pokémon?"

"No. Why would I?"

"Well, what if you catch two of something?"

"Why would I do that?"

"What if your Pidgey turns out to be mean and you want a nicer Pidgey?"

"Pidgey can be as mean as it wants as long as it battles successfully."

"That's a terrible attitude. Pokémon are your friends, not soldiers."

He shrugged. "I know. Isn't it better to accept your Pokémon for their personalities rather than trying to make them into something they're not?"

Caroline paused at this. She guessed that Pokémon were like children, in a way. You couldn't change their personalities, and it was best to just accept them as they were.

"You should still name him. What if I catch a Pidgey, too? We won't know which one we're talking about," Caroline said stubbornly.

"Fine. Beaky."

"That might be the worst name I've ever heard in my entire life."

"Worse than Pecker?"

Caroline threw a stick at his head, which he caught, laughing. "Boys…" she mumbled.

He just shrugged, still suppressing his snorts of laughter.

Caroline turned to her Charmander. "We still need to come up with a name for you, huh?"

Charmander nodded.

"You should name her Elsa."

"Still not funny," Caroline said, squeezing her eyes shut. "How's Sally?"

She liked the poetry of a giant flying fire-breathing lizard named Sally. After all, Charmander would become a Charizard eventually.

Charmander just sort of gave her a nod of agreement before sitting down next to Squirtle.

"What are you naming your Squirtle?"

"Shelby."

She could have sworn she saw Squirtle roll his eyes.

"But that's a girls' name."

" _Squirt_ er."

She couldn't help but notice that Squirtle imitated her disgusted face, which almost made her laugh.

"You should name your Squirtle 'Fred'."

Klaus gave her a raised eyebrow, and turned to Squirtle, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Do you like the name Fred?"

Squirtle nodded, adding an 'I don't care' sort of shrug.

The meaning (" _Better than Shelby"_ ) was clear.

Klaus pressed his lips together, clearly not having expected Fred- _Fred_ -to be so open to what Klaus apparently considered a boring name.

"Right, well, by the rate we're going, we have a week to get to Pewter City before we run out of supplies. You said a few days ago that you'd like, er... _Squiggles_ to evolve before you battle for the Boulder Badge, and that'll only happen if you take some time to train."

"I never would have figured that out on my own. Thanks for that," Caroline said dryly, and looked up to see Klaus rolling his eyes.

"Just trying to help, love."

She made a vague sound of acknowledgment before grabbing her backpack, checking quickly to make sure there were Pokéballs, and turned to pet Squiggles on the head, making her purr. "Do you want to walk or stay in your Pokéball?"

Squiggles edged towards Caroline's bag, which Caroline took as picking the Pokèball, and recalled her before turning to Sally, who stood up, shaking her head. Caroline turned to look at Klaus. "Should we pack up the campsite, or do you want to stay here?"

"We can take turns. I'll stay within eyeshot of the tent, and you can come back in two hours and we'll switch?"

"Sounds good."

Caroline turned to wander into the forest, but Klaus called after her.

"Do you have your phone?"

Caroline nodded. "Why?"

"Just making sure. Wouldn't want you to get into trouble," he said, shooting her a smirk.

She scoffed. "I would not get into trouble. If anyone has a chance of running into problems, it would be you."

"How do you figure?"

She shrugged. "I'm not a dick to strangers."

"When have I ever been a prick to strangers?" he asked, grinning.

Caroline just raised an eyebrow.

 _Caroline sat with Katherine and Elena at the local restaurant, sharing a plate of nachos, when Katherine hissed that a group of boys who weren't from Pallet were coming through the door. Caroline gave the boys the side-eye as they entered._

 _The four of them were seated at a table near them, and all three girls wordlessly agreed to eavesdrop._

" _They have accents," Elena whispered before taking a sip of her iced tea._

" _Obviously, 'Lena."_

" _Shut up, Kat. I was just saying…"_

 _They finished their food and left, giggling to each other about the new people and vowing to find out more._

 _The next day at school, Caroline was heading to the cafeteria for lunch period when one of the boys she'd seen at the restaurant came up to her. "Do you know where the math classroom is for second years?"_

" _Umm...That way," she said, pointing._

" _Thank you. Apologies, where are my manners. I'm Elijah. My family just moved here from Goldenrod City in Johto."_

" _Well, welcome to Kanto, I guess," Caroline said, smiling slightly._

 _Elijah nodded, and turned when a boy who Caroline assumed was Elijah's sibling called his name. "Do you know where the history class is?" he asked._

" _This is my brother, Klaus," Elijah introduced. "I really must go. Class begins in just a few moments."_

 _Caroline nodded, frowning after Elijah before turning to the brother. "History is that door right over there," she said, pointing._

" _You're rather confident to wear that dress," the boy said, seeming to only be half-present in the conversation._

" _Excuse me?"_

 _He winced. "I didn't mean it like that."_

" _How else could you possibly mean it?"_

 _He was apparently struck speechless, and Caroline gritted her teeth and rolled her eyes, stomping off in the opposite direction. Unfortunately, the strode quickly to catch up with her. "I'm Klaus," he said._

" _That's nice."_

" _What's your name?" he asked, apparently undeterred._

" _None of your business," she said coldly before wincing as Katherine called her name._

" _Hey, Caroline!"_

" _Caroline, then?" Klaus asked, smiling slightly._

" _Leave me alone," she said, storming away towards her friend._

 _Klaus let her go, though she managed to look at him through the reflection of a glass door, and he was smirking. "I'll see you tomorrow, Caroline."_

" _It's been about three hours and hot foreign guy already has a crush on you," Katherine whispered._

" _It wasn't on purpose."_

 _Katherine just laughed._

Klaus shifted uncomfortably. "That was _one time_."

Caroline gave a rather unladylike snort and slung her bag over her shoulder. "We'll be back in a bit."

She had only walked ten steps when she felt his eyes on her. "Stop checking out my ass," she snapped, turning around to see him look away, clearly attempting to be casual.

He seemed to inwardly debate something before shooting her a dimpled grin. "But it's such a lovely one."

She glowered at him, throwing him the middle finger as she walked away, trying to convince herself that the extra swing of her hips was completely accidental.

 **XXX**

Klaus watched her go, smirking to himself. If the small smile on her face wasn't an indication that she was more receptive to his advances than she was letting on, the way she was strutting away from him obviously was.

He loved the look on her face when she was annoyed. Well, he really liked _any_ look on her face, but his personal favorite was when she was trying not to laugh at something irritating he'd said.

He turned to Squirtle, who had been observing the interaction with interest. "Ready to do some training, mate?"

Squirtle nodded, pushing himself to his feet and waddling over to Klaus. "We need to make sure to stay near the tent, but we should be able to find a few Pokémon in the area."

Squirtle nodded, looking around, and pulled on the leg of Klaus's jeans, pointing to the rustle of tall grass near hem.

It turned out to be another Pidgey, which Squirtle hit with water gun and a well-placed tackle. They battled a few other Pokémon around the tent (mostly Pidgeys, though there was a Rattata that scampered off before he could catch it) before taking a rest.

He checked his watch and saw that Caroline had another hour or so before she was due to return, and so they sat down at the tent to take a quick rest.

Squirtle waddled into the tent, and Klaus followed to see what he was doing. Squirtle flopped down on Klaus's sleeping bag, looking bored. "We'll rest for ten minutes and then do more?" Klaus suggested.

Squirtle nodded absently, eyes darting around the tent, and Klaus wondered how he ended up with a Pokémon so apathetic to everything around it. They sat in silence for a few minutes while Klaus drank a bottle of water and Squirtle ate a few Pokésnacks. Soon, they were ready to head out of the tent again, and Klaus almost immediately saw a yellow tail disappear around a tree. He walked towards the movement, Squirtle following closely, and sent out Pidgey, who looked mildly confused before its head snapped to the tall grass. "Pidgey, fly over and use peck," he said, disregarding the entire nickname business as long as Caroline wasn't around to enforce it.

Pidgey did as he was told, resulting in a squawk and a screech of another Pokémon. When Pidgey emerged from the tall grass, he had a Weedle in his talons, which he dropped in front of Klaus. As soon as the Weedle was released, it sent out a white stream of sticky webbing. "Pidgey, dodge."

Pidgey did so, and Klaus pulled out a Pokéball, throwing it at the Weedle.

The Pokéball wiggled a few times before the light flashed red and pinged, indicating the Weedle had been caught.

"Think Caroline will approve 'Fluffy'? Or shall we think of something even more ridiculous?" he asked Squirtle, smirking.

Squirtle shrugged.

 **XXX**

Caroline hummed to herself as she walked with Charmander down the forest path. The first gym leader used rock Pokémon, and the only way she'd have a chance was if Squiggles evolved into a Butterfree. She rolled her eyes as she mentally relived her conversation with Klaus.

Margarine _Expensive_...LIke, _seriously_ …

It had been funny, though.

She heard a rustle in the bushes and turned, walking over slowly. A Rattata emerged from the grass, its nose twitching, and she sent out Squiggles.

"Go, Squiggles! Use string shot!"

Squiggles sent out a stream of white, sticky webbing, which rooted Rattata to the ground. "Use tackle!"

Squiggles charged at the Rattata, slamming into its side, and Caroline picked an empty Pokéball out of her satchel, throwing it at the Rattata.

The ball moved, the Rattata clearly trying to escape, before it let out a beeping noise, and Caroline picked it up.

"Good job, Squiggles," she praised, patting Squiggles.

Squiggles purred contentedly, butting against her hand lightly with its head before turning to another rustle in the bushes.

"Tackle!"

The next two Rattatas went down quickly, and Caroline was thankful that they lived in giant colonies, since it gave Squiggles a lot of room to train. After beating three more Rattatas over the next forty-five minutes, Squiggles was worn out. "We'll rest for a minute," Caroline offered, sitting down on the grass.

Squiggles immediately crawled into her lap, settling there, and Charmander sat down beside her. After a few minutes, Squiggles crawled off. "You ready to go again?"

Squiggles purred.

"Okay. Let's find another Rattata to practice on."

Charmander tapped Caroline on the leg and pointed to a patch of grass, and Caroline nodded. "Go, Squiggles! Use string shot!"

Squiggles did so, and there was a soft squeak as the Rattata ran out of the tall grass towards them at full speed. Squiggles sent out another wave of webbing, and Rattata tried to struggle through it.

It leapt at Squiggles, fangs bared, and was just about to bite down when Squiggles glowed a blinding white, and it shot white, sticky webbing around itself to make a cocoon.

It had evolved into Metapod.

"Use harden!" Caroline commanded, and Rattata's teeth couldn't sink into the cocoon, making it cry out in pain. "Squiggles, use tackle!"

Squiggles wiggled forward, managing to smack the Rattata across the face, and the other Pokémon appeared to have decided that it was a lost cause, and it zipped away through the grass.

Caroline looked at Squiggles, which stared back. "We did it," Caroline said, slightly in awe, before she smiled so widely her cheeks hurt. "We did it!"

 **XXX**

"Squiggles evolved!" Caroline said happily when she returned, waving the Pokéball at Klaus, a huge smile on her face. "Oh, and I caught a Rattata."

"What are you naming it?"

She scoffed. "I thought you were against naming them."

"You convinced me," he said dryly.

"Any suggestions?"

He smirked, trying to think of something appropriately inappropriate. "Male or Female?"

"Male."

He hummed to show he'd heard. "Twitchy."

"Twitchy? Seriously?"

He shrugged, fighting down a smile at the look of annoyance on her face. "Rattata are paranoid."

"So? It's not nice to focus on its less likeable traits."

"Hey, now, love. Paranoia can be very useful."

She huffed. "Whatever. I think I'll name him Fang."

"Suit yourself."

"Did you catch anything?" she asked curiously.

He nodded. "I caught a Weedle."

"What are you going to name it?" she asked, sounding torn between curiosity and dread.

"Fluffy," Klaus said.

Caroline wrinkled her nose. "But it's going to evolve into a Beedrill. Those are terrifying, not fluffy."

"It's ironic," he explained.

"Suit yourself," she mocked, shrugging. "I think Fluffy's cute, though. In a weird sort-of way."

"Er...thanks?"

"Yep. Do we have food yet? It's your turn."

"That it is, love," he said, moving his hands to hover above the campfire.

"Stop calling me 'love'."

He gave her a helpless sort-of shrug. "Sorry. Habit."

She scoffed, exchanging an exasperated look with Charmander, who was sitting beside her. Klaus fought down another dimpled smile at how similar they were.

Fiery, excitable, and rather adorable.

He got up to grab a small, light camping pot, and had Squirtle fill it with water, setting it on top of the campfire. While they waited for the water to boil, they made small talk. He was almost certain that Caroline was becoming more receptive to his friendship, and hopefully she'd be willing to take it a bit further.

The only way that might happen was if they continued on together after arriving at Pewter City and beating the Gym Leader there. He had decided that he'd have to show her how much easier it would be with the two of them, and hopefully she'd agree to continuing to travel with him.

They ate and then Squirtle helped Caroline clean up (whoever didn't cook washed the dishes and repacked the supplies), ignoring Caroline's (mostly teasing) attempts to make him call Squirtle 'Fred'. It was getting colder, and they put out the fire and Caroline made him wait outside while she changed inside the tent, before she walked out to shiver next to Charmander for warmth as he did the same.

Once they were both settled in their sleeping bags, Charmander nudged the Pokéball with its foot.

"You want to sleep in your Pokéball?"

Charmander nodded.

Klaus had already put Squirtle back into his Pokéball and saw how conflicted Caroline was about being completely alone with him. He was as bit hurt that she still didn't feel comfortable, but gave her the space to decide without saying anything. She finally nodded and called Charmander back into its Pokéball before snuggling into her sleeping bag.

"Are we going to try to reach the city tomorrow?" he asked quietly.

"I want to get Squiggles to evolve again first. So six more days, but I'll train a bit in the meantime. You're welcome to head to Pewter without me, though."

"I couldn't leave you here all alone, love. You'd miss me."

She scoffed. "You wish. And no pet names."

It was dark, but he could hear the smile in her voice.

 **XXX**

Caroline woke six days later to the smell of bacon outside the tent. She yawned, shifting slightly and stretching, before moving out of the tent to see Klaus bending over the fire. They were almost out of supplies, though they'd slowed down just to make sure they'd have enough, and they'd been gradually moving closer to the city every day. They were now about five miles away, and they would get there that night at the latest once Squiggles evolved into Butterfree.

"Good morning."

"Morning," she said, her voice thick from tiredness.

"How are you feeling?"

"Pretty good."

"Would you like some?" he asked, gesturing towards the frying pan.

Caroline nodded, grabbing a plate and holding it out. He smirked at her as he spooned some bacon and eggs to her.

"Thanks."

"Of course, love."

"No pet names," she said, though she didn't manage to muster up the same level of indignation as she usually did, before she shoved a piece of bacon in her mouth.

"Are you going to train a bit more today, or are you comfortable enough that Squiggles will evolve later that you're willing to start biking?"

"I'm willing to head over later this afternoon once Squiggles evolves."

"It's a plan, then," Klaus said, shooting her a smile, which she returned without even thinking about it.

They ate in relative silence, just enjoying the quiet, crisp air, and Caroline excused herself and Squiggles to go finish some training.

"Squiggles, use string shot!" she commanded, pointing at a nearby Weedle, pulling out a Pokéball in preparation to catch it.

She might not need the Weedle, but it was always good to have a full party just in case they ran into trouble. She could always send it to the Professor in her hometown to keep it safe for her.

Once the Weedle was safely wrapped in webbing, Caroline commanded Squiggles to tackle it, and then threw a Pokéball. She turned to Squiggles while waiting for the Pokéball to beep, and saw that it was glowing again.

She resisted the urge to jump up and down as Squiggles' cocoon shed off, the form morphing into that of a Butterfree. "You're gorgeous," Caroline breathed.

Squiggles chirped happily, and Caroline returned her to the Pokéball and picked up the Pokèball containing her new Weedle before heading back to the tent.

"Help me take it down?" Klaus asked.

She nodded, helping him pull the poles out of the ground, and it made her think of how much harder it would be on her own. It wasn't that she couldn't set up the tent alone, and she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself, but she knew she'd get lonely quickly, and it was... _nice_ having another person around. Her mother had been right. It was a lot easier.

She looked at Klaus out of the corner of her eye, bending down to grab one of the large rocks they'd found, which they'd used to keep the tent grounded, his muscles flexing slightly as he lifted it.

They packed everything up and secured the belongings to their bikes before Klaus consulted the map. She'd finally admitted that his sense of direction was better than hers, before assuring him that it was probably his only redeeming quality while trying to ignore the small smirk on his face because he could tell that she wasn't serious before she could.

She pedaled down the forest path, trusting Klaus not to lead them away from the correct course, while trying to redirect her brain back to the upcoming challenge instead of the way Klaus's back muscles rippled under his shirt as he steered.

They arrived at Pewter City in the late afternoon, and walked their bikes through the gates, trying to find a motel. Caroline spotted one a few blocks in, and they entered.

Caroline was about to walk up to the front desk, when Klaus grabbed her arm lightly. "What?"

"We should get one room. It'll be cheaper."

"I'm not sharing a bed with you," she said without thinking about it, blushing at his eyeroll.

"We've been sharing a tent for the last few weeks. I think it'll be fine. I'll keep my hands to myself, as I have for the _entire time_ we've been traveling together. I promise."

Caroline winced. "Sorry, I didn't mean it like that."

He scoffed. "Of course you did, but it's fine. I understand."

Caroline personally felt that he didn't sound like he understood, but decided to keep that information to herself, instead walking up to the front desk. "One room, please."

"Do you have ID?" the woman asked.

Caroline pulled out her Pokédex, handing it over, and the woman stuck it into the automated slot on the desk. The light flashed and she pulled it out. The woman told Caroline that licensed trainers got a free bike lock for their stay, and handed her two. Caroline called Klaus over and they split the fee for the room, and the woman handed Caroline the key.

They locked the bikes up in the parking lot before moving up the stairs, bags slung over their shoulders. "I don't think I've ever been happier to see a working shower in my life," Caroline said happily, grabbing some sweatpants and a tank top out of her bag.

Klaus nodded in agreement, already in the process of plugging his phone in. Caroline followed suit before walking into the bathroom, starting the hot water and moaning as it hit her skin.

They'd only agreed to stay together until Pewter City, but she felt her stomach sink slightly at the prospect of him leaving. She knew he would stay if she asked, but she wasn't sure how to do it without sounding like she was giving in to him.

She'd figure it out later, she decided. She had a gym battle to win, and now was most certainly _not_ the time to stress about how to ask Klaus to keep traveling with her, even if she was a bit more nervous about asking Klaus than gaining her first gym badge.

She wasn't quite sure what that said about her (or Klaus, or her feelings _towards_ Klaus), but she tried to clear that from her mind. She could think about how to hint to Klaus that she might want to stick together with him on their journey after the battle.

That gym leader wouldn't know what hit them, she decided.

It would take much longer for Caroline to admit it, but it just so happened that her feelings for Klaus occurred in the very same way.

She never saw it coming.

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! This fic will combine elements from the television show and the games, but the plot will be mine. The fic is going in a slightly darker direction than the show/games, and I'm really excited about my plans for it.  
Just so everyone knows, there will be no breeding in this. There were some questions about that.  
Did you like the detail on the battles, or was it too much? Does everyone like the tension building between Caroline and Klaus? Do we think that Klaus teasing Caroline with horrible nicknames for their Pokemon is cute? It'll be their thing, I think ;) Any predictions on how they'll get together? I've already planned it, and I'm hoping you guys like the way I'll do it. Did you have a favorite part or line? Is there anything I can be doing better? I love your feedback, so bring it on!  
Hugs!  
-Angie**


	3. New Additions

**A/N: I hope you guys like (unnaturally long) chapter. A lot happens in it :)  
This story has BroTP Carenzo. There will be no romance or potential romance between the two.  
Thank you to D and Wifey for beta work.  
Enjoy!  
-Angie**

* * *

Caroline toweled off her hair and dressed, thankful that she'd remembered to bring her clothes into the bathroom with her, and felt her stomach growl. She walked back into the motel room to see Klaus sitting on the bed with his phone. "Are you hungry?" she asked, grabbing her hairbrush from her bag and pulling it through her hair.

"Yes."

"Do you want to go grab something to eat?"

It didn't occur to her until it was out of her mouth that it _hadn't_ occurred to her to just go alone. From his expression, he had realized the same thing. "Are you asking me out to dinner with you?" he teased, clearly half-amused-half-hopeful.

She scoffed. "No. I'm just hungry and thought I'd be nice."

"Okay, well that sounds fine. Do you want to go to the restaurant we passed down the street?"

"Sure," she said, swiping on some mascara before turning to glare at him, waving the mascara wand threateningly in his direction. "It's not a date."

"I never said it was, love."

She ignored the endearment, deciding not to bait him. "We should also stop by the gym and make appointments for our battles," she said as she stuck all of her make-up back in its bag and then set it on the bathroom counter.

In order to let gym leaders have adequate time to heal and care for their Pokémon, you had to make an appointment for your battle. Usually they had slots open every day, but they still wouldn't let you in without one.

"All right," he said agreeably.

They still had about an hour until dinner time, so they headed to the gym first, the receptionist looking up as they entered. "We'd like to make appointments for gym battles," Caroline said.

"Of course," the receptionist said, turning to his computer and typing. "We have three slots open tomorrow at eleven, one, and three. Do any of those work for you?"

"One of us can do eleven and then we can get lunch and come back at one," Klaus suggested.

"Okay."

The receptionist nodded. "Can I have your name and the time you'd prefer?"

"Klaus Mikaelson, and I'll take the eleven o'clock."

"Caroline Forbes."

He nodded. "I'll just need some ID and then we'll be all set."

They nodded, pulling out their Pokédexes and handing them over to be scanned, packing them away again when the receptionist returned them.

"See you tomorrow," he said before turning back to his computer, a clear dismissal.

 **XXX**

Caroline turned on her side, facing away from Klaus. She had no idea why she'd agreed to this. Sleeping in a sleeping bag in a tent was a million times different than sleeping with him in a bed. There were no boundaries between them, nothing to keep her from finding his body heat and tangling her legs with his in her sleep.

When she'd mentioned this to Klaus (the lack of sleeping bag, not the body heat stealing), he'd just told her that she was welcome to wrap the sheets around her like a sleeping bag, but could she please tell him ahead of time so that he could get the extra blanket out of the linen closet.

She assured him that it would be fine, but now she wasn't so sure. She moved closer to the edge of the mattress, wrapping the comforter protectively around her, and she heard Klaus huff in exasperation.

"Caroline, I'm not going to grab you in your sleep. Would you please stop edging as close to the end of the bed as physically possible? You're taking all of the blankets."

"It was your idea to get one room," she reminded him grumpily.

"Yes, well, that was before I realized that you were a blanket-hoarder," he mumbled, ripping one of the sheets away from her and pulling around himself, turning to face away from her.

She heard his breathing even around ten minutes later, and was almost tempted to keep herself up. She was always freezing at night, and Klaus was a convenient heat source, which meant that it was very likely she'd end up waking up half on top of him.

Still though, she felt her eyelids grow heavy, and she couldn't not sleep the night before her gym battle. That was a disaster waiting to happen, she rationalized.

 **XXX**

He wasn't sure what majestic being blessed him with the experience of waking up with Caroline Forbes draped literally _on top_ of him, but he wasn't going to question it.

She was pressed against his body, her head on his chest, her limbs splayed on either side of him, and he really needed to find a way to either make sure she knew that he had done nothing to manipulate them into this situation or to get out from under her without waking her up.

He would have just tried to drift back off to sleep so that she'd wake up first, but when he twisted slightly to check the hotel clock on the side table he saw that it was 9:30, and he had a feeling Caroline would take longer in the shower than he would, so it would be best for him to get a move on.

He shifted slightly under her, and she made a soft sound of contentment, nuzzling her cheek against his chest, her breathing even.

 _Fuck_.

Okay, new plan.

"Caroline, you are driving your knee into my thigh," he said, tapping Caroline on the shoulder.

She stirred slowly, blearily opening her eyes before realizing the position that they were in, her cheeks flushing. "Oh, sorry."

It was the first time he'd seen her look genuinely embarrassed, and he realized that she'd known that there was a distinct possibility of this happening, which explained her reluctance to be near him, as well as her blanket-stealing.

Not that he was complaining. He enjoyed the results, after all.

She still hadn't moved away, apparently still frozen, processing the position they were in. He needed her to move quickly. For some reason having her awake on top of him, sleep-rumpled, with her breath landing on his face was infinitely more problematic for his self control than her sleeping, and his body was trying its best to match that knowledge.

He ran through every disgusting mental picture he could think of (roadkill, moldy food, that video that Kol tricked him into googling that they had agreed to never speak of again), and managed to get his hormones down to a manageable level.

"I need a shower," he said, pushing her off of him gently, knowing that she'd probably inferred that the word "cold" was missing from that sentence judging by the flush in her cheeks.

As he turned on the water, running a hand distractedly through his hair, he reflected that as morning wake-ups went, it wasn't that bad at all.

 **XXX**

"Hello. I have an appointment for a battle at eleven."

"Name?"

"Klaus Mikaelson."

"All right. You will be allowed three Pokémon each, and there will be no mid-match substitutions. If you call a Pokémon out, they're out for the duration of the match. Is that agreeable?"

"Yes."

"All right. Right this way."

Caroline followed him and the receptionist down the hall to the battle room. The gym leader was waiting for them, and he shook Klaus's hand.

"My name's Enzo," he said, giving Klaus a small smile.

"Klaus."

"I'm Caroline," she added, shaking Enzo's hand (she'd see him later anyway).

"My one o'clock?" he asked, giving her a smile and a wink. "I'm looking forward to it."

She successfully resisted the urge to scoff, though she didn't manage to restrain her eyeroll. She saw Klaus push down a smile out of the corner of her eye at her reaction. Enzo's eyes darted between them as she took her seat on the spectator bench on the side behind the referee, before he walked to the gym leader's spot on the other side of the room.

"Are you ready to begin?" the referee asked.

"Yes," Klaus said as Enzo nodded.

"Begin!"

Enzo sent out an Onix, and Klaus called Fred, smirking. Fred looked up at the Onix boredly, and Caroline restrained a smile as she watched it blast a harsh jet of water in Onix's face. The large rock snake fell to the floor with a crash, and the gym leader called it back and sent out a Geodude, which met a similar treatment.

Caroline had a feeling that that Enzo only had a certain set of Pokémon he was allowed to use for gym battles, or he wouldn't have sent out another rock type.

"Zubat, go! Use Confuse Ray."

Fred clapped its hands over its ears, but wobbled as it took a few steps, clearly unable to walk straight, and the referee watched for a moment before lifting the flag on the gym leader's side.

"Squirtle is unable to continue."

Klaus called Fred back and clipped the Pokéball back into his belt before sending out Beaky.

"Confuse Ray," Enzo ordered again.

Beaky flew sideways to dodge the beam of light being sent towards it before flying at the Zubat to tackle it out of the air. Zubat fell to the floor with a thump, but flew back up almost immediately, flying at Beaky, fangs gleaming.

Beaky dodged and snapped its beak around Zubat's wing, making the other Pokémon whine softly in pain before letting go and flying away, landing on the ground again. Zubat still stood, and when ordered, it used leech life, the little white balls of light flying from Beaky to Zubat, leeching its energy.

Zubat seemed to regain strength as Beaky clearly lost energy, and Klaus encouraged Beaky to move with no success.

"Pidgey is unable to continue," the referee said, raising his flag.

Klaus called Beaky back, returning the Pokémon to its Pokéball, and then sending out Fluffy.

Caroline hadn't known that Klaus's Weedle had evolved into a Beedrill, but observed with interested eyes as Fluffy used Fury Attack, its needle arms driving into Zubat's stomach. The other Pokémon fell, and when it laid still for a few moments, the referee raised their flag again.

"Zubat is unable to continue. The challenger is the winner."

A small smile spread across Klaus's face, and Caroline grinned at him as he called Fluffy back. Enzo came over to shake hands.

"Good job, mate."

"Thank you," Klaus said, nodding.

"You can pick up your badge from the reception desk out front. And I'll see _you_ at one, gorgeous."

This time it was Klaus who rolled his eyes.

Caroline followed him out of the gym, smiling slightly at how happy he was, and tried not to giggle when he got the Boulderbadge from the front desk, tucking it into his badge case.

"Good job," she said, giving him a hug before realizing what she was doing.

He stiffened, but hugged back hesitantly. "Thanks."

She tried not to blush when she pulled away, especially when she saw the calculating look he was giving her, instead turning around to the door. "I'm hungry. I'm going to go grab some lunch before my match."

"All right. Am I invited?"

"Will you invite yourself even if I say no?"

"It's a distinct possibility."

She laughed. "Okay. Well, I guess I'll let it slide as a celebration thing, just this once."

"So there will be more times we'll celebrate?" he asked, giving her a smug smirk as he fell into step beside her as they walked down the sidewalk.

"Don't push it."

"Wouldn't dream of it, love."

 **XXX**

"So…" Caroline said quietly as they walked out of the gym, trailing off as she clutched her Boulderbadge tightly in her hand. "Is this where you take off?"

"I need to heal my Pokémon at the Pokémon center and then get some supplies from the PokéMart and the grocery store first."

"Me too," she said, slightly thankful that she had more time to think of a graceful way to ask him to stay with her.

"All right, then," he said, and they started walking towards downtown, not speaking. They arrived at the PokeMart first, and picked up some first aid potions for their Pokémon, as well as some Pokémon food and Pokéballs.

"So, where are you headed to next?" she asked as they walked towards the grocery store together.

"Probably Cerulean City. You?"

"The same," she said, thankful for the easy opening she was giving him.

"Would you be opposed to traveling together? Perhaps just for the next few days?"

"If we're going in the same direction, then it makes sense, I guess."

His smug smirk told her that he knew exactly what she was doing, but he thankfully didn't comment, instead just asking her if she liked peanut butter, adding it to his basket when she said yes.

It was only another few minutes before they were walking to the register, and Klaus went first, setting his shopping basket on the counter. She waited until he'd paid and then set hers down after he stepped aside, holding his shopping bag.

The cashier gave them a kind smile as she added up Caroline's purchases. "You look nice together," she said kindly as she took the bills Caroline counted out to pay.

Caroline's froze mid-movement, and before she could speak she heard Klaus say, "Oh, we're not together. Just friends."

She felt her stomach drop, and it only took her a second to process the reason.

She liked Klaus Mikaelson.

And from the small surprised smirk on his face at her reaction, he knew it.

 **XXX**

"So, I looked at the map and it seems like it'll be a pretty short walk to Mt. Moon, and then it'll take a day or two to get out." Caroline said as they walked away from the Pokémon Center to the city limits of Pewter.

"We should probably get as far as we can today, then. Of course, that's only if your questionable map-reading ability has succeeded this time around."

She glared at him as she mounted her bike. "You didn't have to come if you didn't like my _questionable map-reading abilities_."

She pedaled off, hearing Klaus's laughter as he rode behind her.

They didn't talk for an hour before they stopped at a clearing to rest, drinking from their water bottles and letting their Pokémon out for a bit to stretch. She didn't feel uncomfortable around him anymore, but she did feel a new kind of awkwardness that came with dancing around your feelings for someone.

She couldn't help the slight tug in her chest whenever he shot her a dimpled smile now, and she couldn't remember when she started having feelings for him, she just knew that it was incredibly inconvenient.

They heard the rustle of bushes and both turned to see Enzo, the gym leader from Pewter, pedaling towards them. "Enzo?" Caroline asked.

"Hey, gorgeous. Klaus."

Klaus nodded, his resting irritated-face coming out in all its glory. "What can we help you with, mate?"

"I'm just heading to Cerulean City to visit my friend."

"We're headed there too," Caroline said when it became clear that Klaus wasn't going to talk in favor of standing there sulking. "Who's taking care of the gym for you?"

"Oh, I'm not technically the gym leader. Wes was on holiday on Cinnabar Island, so I was taking over for the week."

"Oh," Caroline said slowly.

Enzo nodded. "If you guys would like some company, I'm happy to lend my tent-pitching skills."

"We've got it covered, mate," Klaus said at the same time as Caroline's cheery agreement to his offer.

Enzo's lips twitched as Caroline glared at Klaus, who rolled his eyes.

"Welcome aboard, I suppose."

Enzo grinned. "Thanks. Are you going to Cerulean to challenge Alaric?"

"If he's the gym leader, then yes."

"He is. Good friend of mine. Nice bloke."

"He uses water types, right?" Caroline asked, eager to pick Enzo's brain for information.

"He does," Enzo confirmed. "Got quite a large collection, too. You never know what you'll be facing."

They rested for a few more minutes before all mounting their bikes and pedaling off. Caroline stopped them after a few minutes when she saw a rustle in the bushes. "Hold on," she hissed, stopping her bike and putting down the kickstand, pulling out a Pokéball and sending out Squiggles.

A Bellsprout came ambling out of the grass, freezing when it saw the three trainers and Squiggles.

"Squiggles, use Stun Spore!"

Squiggles flew towards Bellsprout, releasing sparkling powder, making the Bellsprout freeze in place. Caroline squeezed the Pokéball to make it activate and threw it at the Bellsprout, who disappeared in a beam of red light. The Pokéball wiggled once or twice before the ball pinged softly. Caroline smiled as she picked up the Pokéball, slotting it in her belt.

They got back on their bikes to keep going, and they stopped so Klaus could catch a Pikachu. They arrived outside the large rock tunnel known as Mt. Moon just as it was getting dark.

"Should we make camp out here or inside?" Caroline asked as they all stood in front of the entrance.

"I'd prefer inside, if that's all right," Enzo said, and Caroline could tell that Klaus was about to argue, but seemed to decide against it.

"All right."

They walked inside, flashlights out, and Enzo seemed to know the area much better as he guided them through the vast and complicated tunnel to a small cave on one of the sides. "We can set up camp here, if that's all right."

Caroline nodded and sent out Sally while Klaus got out their portable firepit. Soon the fire was crackling, and they had a pot boiling water. Enzo set up his own small tent while Caroline set up the one she usually shared with Klaus.

Enzo volunteered to watch the food, and Klaus used the distraction to talk to Caroline alone. "If Enzo agrees, I'd be willing to sleep with him in our tent and let you have the small one. Would that make you more comfortable?"

She shrugged. She would never admit it aloud, but the idea of sleeping in a flimsy tent by herself in a dark cave filled with wild Pokémon didn't seem very safe. It wasn't that she thought that she needed Klaus to protect her, it just seemed like a good strategy for self-preservation. The problem was, she didn't quite know how to admit that she'd rather sleep in a tent with him without giving him the wrong idea.

Though she knew that she'd left the denial stage at this point, she wasn't quite ready to accept her feelings for Klaus or what they meant, and she felt like she needed time to process what she wanted to do.

She also knew that he was trying to be nice, and she appreciated that.

She took a deep breath. "Um, yeah actually. That would be great. Check with Enzo?"

What was the worst that could happen?

 **XXX**

Klaus groaned as he was shaken awake. "Whas'gonon?"

"There's something outside," Caroline hissed, her voice panicked.

"I'm sure it's just a Zubat or something, love. It's fine."

"No, there was _talking_ , Klaus."

Klaus sat up slowly, shooting a look at Enzo who was stirring at the sudden noise. "What do you want me to do?" he asked, resigned to the fact that Caroline probably wouldn't be going back to sleep anytime soon.

"I don't know. Go look," she said.

He studied her face, and she really did look scared. He doubted that it had been easy for her to come ask for help, as she generally tried her best to do things herself, and wondered what had upset her that much.

"Did you hear what they said?" he asked, reaching over to his suitcase to pull out a shirt and slipping it on.

Caroline clearly hadn't realized that he'd been shirtless, because her eyes darted to his bare chest as he pulled the shirt down, and he was fairly sure that she was blushing, though he couldn't quite tell. He tried to fight down a smirk with little success, though she didn't seem to notice.

"Yeah. They said something about kidnapping for a lab. There were at least five of them. Look, Klaus, I know it seems stupid, but can you please just check? You can feel free to give me shit for it in the morning if it's nothing, but I know what I heard."

"Of course, love. It's fine. Breathe," he said, patting her awkwardly on the shoulder as he kicked off his sleeping bag and grabbed his flashlight and the Pokéball holding Fred, moving out of the tent.

He strained his ears, and he did hear voices, though he couldn't quite make out what they were saying. He crept closer, suddenly aware that Caroline was hovering behind him.

" _Kai won't be happy about this."_

" _Well there's nothing we can do at this point, Liv. He's not here. He left."_

" _We were supposed to get him back. He was the only one who knew how to work the machine."_

" _Look, I'm sure we'll find him, okay? It'll be fine. He can't have gone far."_

" _But what if we don't?"_

It was a male and a female, and they seemed to be on some kind of task for someone named Kai. He wondered who the person was that they were talking about? Had they escaped from something? What did the machine do?

" _Look, we'll just take the samples we were supposed to take, look for him outside, and if we can't find him, we'll head back to the base."_

Caroline and Klaus exchanged a look. _Base?_ _Samples?_

This didn't indicate anything good.

"See?" Caroline asked quietly, gesturing wildly in the direction of the voices. "They're here"

Klaus nodded. "I can tell. Look, they don't seem to be here for us, so I'm sure they'll leave us alone. I'll stay up awhile if you want and make sure they don't come over, but I'm sure it'll be fine."

"It's okay. I'm sure you're right. It's probably nothing," she said slowly. "It'll be fine."

He nodded and turned to walk back to the tent and she rubbed her arms, clearly cold. "Would you mind if I stayed? I know it's stupid, but I just don't want to be–"

"It's fine," Klaus interrupted. "Don't worry about it, love."

She smiled slightly at him and got into the tent. He followed her, wriggling back into his sleeping bag and watching her dig out a blanket from their suitcase of shared supplies before wrapping herself in it. She laid down a few feet away, and he waited until he heard her breathing deepen before he let himself attempt to fall asleep.

He couldn't seem to relax, though. Despite his assurances to Caroline, he couldn't push away the gut feeling that something was very, _very_ wrong, and he hoped that they wouldn't be caught up in it. He shifted in his sleeping bag, trying to get comfortable, and smiled slightly when he saw that Caroline had rolled towards him.

He knew it was creepy to watch her sleep for a bit, but she just looked so peaceful and content. After half an hour of twisting and turning, he was honestly ready to get up just to try to tire himself out, but Caroline rolled over again and settled against him, her body pressing against his. He decided that he simply didn't have the heart to risk waking her up by moving. Purely selfless reasons, of course.

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! Are you excited to see Enzo join the team (sort of as the Brock of the group)? Interested to see what's up with those shady people in Mt. Moon? What do you think they're up to? Are you excited to see Klaus and Caroline grow closer?  
Let me know what you think! :)  
As always, reviews are the only way I improve, as well as the only way I know what you guys do and don't like (AND they inspire me to put out chapters faster), so you should drop me one :)  
You can find me on tumblr at thetourguidebarbie.  
Hugs!  
-Angie**


	4. Mt Moon

**A/N:** It's been quite awhile, and I'm sorry about that. Thank you so much for your patience! This chapter is the longest so far, and I hope you enjoy it!  
Thank you to Sophie for beta work.

* * *

She opened her eyes abruptly, trying to figure out what had woken her, and was only mildly surprised to feel that she was pressed against Klaus, the sleeping bag and thick blanket blocking any actual bodily contact.

Despite that, his breath was hot and even against her neck, one arm thrown over her waist, and she carefully wriggled away, pleased when he didn't wake. She felt incredibly embarrassed about the night before. It wasn't normal for her to need comfort, and she felt strangely weak for it.

Yes, she had a crush on Klaus, but she didn't want to act on it, she decided as she moved back to her own tent to dress. They were just going to stay friends. It would be easier that way. She'd been warming up to him, and he didn't deserve the hot/cold routine, but she couldn't let herself jump into a relationship with him.

She needed to focus on winning the Pokémon League, and to do that, she needed no distractions. Klaus was helpful to have around camp, and she had started to genuinely enjoy spending time with him, so she wasn't using him.

She just didn't want to get into something that they couldn't go back from. At this point, none of her childhood friends were speaking to her, which was part of why it was such a relief to get out of Pallet Town. She knew that deserved better than shitty friends who didn't care about her, and Klaus had been the only one to really stand by her, despite their slightly antagonistic relationship (at least on her side).

Him standing by her during that whole fiasco was a huge deal to her, no matter how reluctant she'd been to admit it. Bonnie and Katherine had chosen Elena over her, and losing two of her friends over a boy had been a huge blow to her confidence.

It had _hurt_.

She'd vowed to herself that day that she'd never let a romantic relationship get in the way of her friendships again, and despite Klaus's potential as a romantic partner, he was also her friend, her _only_ friend left, the only one who cared enough to choose her, to put her first, and losing him would hurt more.

It wasn't even that he was the only one left, really. He was smart and funny, and he had a way of pushing her buttons that she just couldn't get angry over. He wasn't like Elena, where you had to walk on eggshells to make sure you didn't say the wrong thing. He wasn't judgy like Bonnie and didn't say hurtful things and pass them off as a joke like Katherine... It was nice to have a friend that she didn't have to check herself around.

She couldn't lose that. Not now.

And maybe, just maybe, when this whole Pokémon League thing was over, once she had that trophy (because she wouldn't accept any other outcome), things could be different.

Maybe they could have something.

For now, though, they had to stay friends, and that meant no flirting, no touching, and absolutely no accidental-on-purpose cuddling.

She took a deep breath, finger combing her hair and slathering on deodorant, walking out to see Enzo sitting by the fire, flipping an egg onto a plate. "Do you like yours runny or solid?" he asked, cracking another egg onto the skillet.

"Umm. Either way's fine," she said, sitting next to him. "Thanks."

"No problem, gorgeous."

She shot him her best ' _Are you serious right now?'_ look and huffed, crossing her arms, but he just smiled. They sat there in silence for a while, the only noise in the air the crackling of the egg cooking.

"He obviously likes you."

"Yep."

"And you're not subtle about fancying him either."

"Nope," she said calmly, not bothering to deny it.

"Are you going to act on it? Because if so, I'd rather have warning so that I can be sure to purchase noise-canceling headphones at our next stop. Never been one for voyeurism."

"No, I'm not," she said. "And how do you know we're going to still be traveling together after Cerulean City?"

"Don't be daft, gorgeous. You will be," Enzo said simply, turning back to the pan.

"All right, then," she mumbled.

They sat in a slightly more awkward silence as he flipped the egg onto a paper plate, not pushing the subject.

"So, what are your plans?" she asked, unable to stand the awkward silence.

"Don't really have any. I have to go to Cerulean City to drop something off, but after that I'm free as a bird."

"Cool."

"And I take it you're off to the Pokémon League?"

"Yeah. I want to win."

"I bet you do, gorgeous."

She huffed at his small smile. She could tell he wasn't trying to be condescending, but it was the sort of smile people gave to someone who wanted to be a famous actor or a novelist, like there wasn't a snowball's chance in hell that she could do it.

Of course, whenever someone told Caroline she couldn't do something, she made it her business to prove them wrong.

To enter the Pokémon League, you had to have a badge from a level eight gym. You won badges by beating the gym Leaders, and each gym had a level. You could only challenge a level two gym when you'd earned a badge from a level one gym. The Pewter City Gym was a level one, and Caroline knew that the challenge would only grow harder from there. Only a third of the challengers ended up being able to beat a gym that was over level six, and the people that got to the Pokémon League were the best of the best.

Was the process competitive? Absolutely.

Caroline thrived on competition.

"Well what's your life goal, then?" she asked waspishly.

"I want to be a Gym Leader," he said, shrugging.

"Cool. How do you do that?"

"I have to pick a type of Pokémon to specialize in and catch one of each."

"Well, the Pewter City uses Rock types, right?"

"Well, yes, but those aren't mine," he pointed out. "Each gym uses a set roster so that it's fair."

"I know. I was just saying."

He gave her a teasing grin. "Either way, I've picked Poison types, so I have to go out and catch all of them. It would be nice to have some traveling companions…"

"Is that a hint?"

"Possibly," he said airily. "If you're on this road trip, you might as well let me tag along. I'm an excellent cook, as you can see."

She pursed her lips. "We'll have to ask Klaus about it."

"Obviously. However, something tells me that if you put your pretty little foot down we won't have a problem."

"Shut up," she mumbled, shoving some egg in her mouth and trying not to look at him. They ate in silence for a few minutes before the tent rustled, and she turned to see Klaus walking out, fully dressed.

He grunted out a good morning when she greeted him, clearly not in the mood to talk, and took the egg Enzo offered him with a curt thank you before sitting down opposite Caroline.

He didn't mention anything about their sleeping positions, which she was thankful for.

"So, I was thinking that we could do some training here and then head to Cerulean City tonight? We'll need to budget our prize money a bit better, since the travel time to Vermillion City will be at least twice as long as it was to get from Pewter to Cerulean."

She didn't even notice that she'd assumed they were traveling together until Klaus gave her a small smile, and she looked away, fighting down the flush staining her cheeks.

"What? It'll be nice to have friends to travel with."

A frown flitted across his face at the word 'friend', but he recovered quickly. "Sounds good, love. Shall we pack up and get moving?"

"Yeah. Sure."

Caroline went inside of the tent she'd shared with Klaus, stuffing all of her clothes into her bag and watching out of the corner of her eye as Klaus did the same. He was faster (since he didn't fold his clothes and instead stuffed them into his bag until it was practically bursting at the seams), and he moved outside, not speaking to her.

She finished up, zipping her bag and going outside to help the boys take down the tents. "So, you've gone through Mt. Moon before, right Enzo?"

"Yes, and I'm happy to guide you through."

"Great!" she said, securing her backpack and making sure her the kickstand of her bike was up before she began to walk it down the rocky path. "I think we might want to trade in our bikes when we get to somewhere with a bike shop for something a bit more portable."

"Like what, love? A scooter? Wouldn't exactly be able to travel in that, would we?"

"They have collapsible bicycles. They're a bit more expensive, but worth it, in my opinion. There's actually a bicycle shop in Cerulean City," Enzo said, and Caroline nodded.

"That works for me. So, the faster we start walking, the faster we get there."

"Was there anything you wanted to catch on the way, gorgeous? I should catch a Zubat before we get out, there's no way that we won't find one before we leave."

"What is there?"

"Clefairy and Paras are rare, but they're here. There are some Geodudes as well, which are slightly more common. You see a Jigglypuff every now and again, but Zubat is by far the most common."

"Okay. Sounds good," she said before turning to Klaus. "Whoever sees it first?"

"Sounds fair, love," he said, giving her a dimpled smile.

She couldn't help but smile back.

 **XXX**

Klaus lingered behind Caroline and Enzo as they walked in silence, taking stock of his surroundings and sizing up Enzo. From the second they'd met in the forest, Klaus had somehow known that the other man wasn't interested in flirting with Caroline, which had been confirmed this morning with the conversation that he'd overheard while getting ready in the tent.

He was honestly more than a bit annoyed at her attitude, which seemed to be that she couldn't juggle training for the Pokémon League at the same time as a possible relationship with him. Did she really think that he'd hold her back?

The very idea made his stomach twist in anger. He'd been nothing but supportive, and it wasn't as though he didn't have the same goal. Why would she assume the worst of him?

He was pulled out of his thoughts by Caroline stopping suddenly in her tracks (making him nearly walk into her), and pulling out a Pokéball.

He watched as she sent out Butterfree, commanding it to use Confusion on the Geodude she'd spotted. The wild Pokémon squeezed its eyes shut in discomfort, and Caroline ordered her Butterfree to use Sleep Powder before she took out an empty Pokéball and threw it at the Geodude.

It was almost cute how she held her breath while she waited for the ding that indicated she'd caught it.

He saw a Paras just minutes later and sent out his Pidgey, catching it easily after the bird scratched it, darting around to dodge the snap of its claws, and Enzo caught a Zubat just as they emerged from the end of a rocky passage.

They walked for another half hour or so, Klaus now in step with them with Enzo consulting his map every few minutes. Caroline suddenly gasped softly, her arms reaching out to grab both the boys' sleeves.

She shushed them, pulling out a Pokéball and walking towards a Clefairy, who was sitting peacefully in a corner, humming to itself, clearly not having realized they'd found it.

She sent out her Bellsprout, whispering for it to use Stun Spore on the Clefairy, and the Clefairy at let out a soft squeak of surprise before it fell to the ground. Caroline threw a Pokéball, capturing it.

She gave Klaus a huge smile, radiating excitement.

"Congratulations, sweetheart."

"Thanks!" she said, her body flinching as she clearly started to hug him, but then thought better of it. Instead, she made herself busy by stuffing the Pokéball containing her new Clefairy into her bag and slinging it over her shoulder again. "Where to next, Enzo?"

Enzo gestured to a nearby tunnel. He and Caroline had been talking throughout the walk, and Klaus was content just to listen, but when they approached the mouth of the cave, Klaus could hear shouting from just outside.

He grabbed Caroline's arm, shooting her a look that he hoped conveyed for her to stay quiet.

"Give us the sample!"

The man's voice sounded very similar to the man who had been outside their camping spot the night before, and he and Caroline exchanged panicked looks.

"No. These samples are mine, and you aren't going to use them to make your mutant Pokémon clones."

"Team Gemini isn't making mutant clones," another voice said, her voice cold and nasal. "We're improving the Pokémon."

"You're doing unethical experiments on them, making them into battle machines, and I won't let that happen. These Pokémon are extinct, and the fossils are rare. You aren't going to use them to make your twisted army."

"Fine. If you're not going to cooperate, we'll just take them."

The sound of a Pokéball opening echoed off the cave walls, followed by the hiss of an Ekans.

"Not going to defend yourself?" the girl asked, her voice cold. "Oh, do you have no Pokémon of your own? Fine. Bite him, Ekans."

Caroline gasped, clapping her hand over her own mouth as soon as she realized she'd made a sound, and Klaus had a feeling he knew why. Though you could challenge other trainers with Pokémon, it was highly illegal to have your Pokémon attack a human directly, and the consequences were harsh. Ekans was a highly poisonous snake, and if the man was bitten, he would die if he didn't get to a hospital fast enough.

"Liv, wait."

"What's your problem, Luke?"

"Did you hear that?" Luke asked.

"Hear what?"

"I think there's someone around the corner."

"Well, go check then!"

Klaus heard footsteps approach, and all three of them stepped out from their hiding place before the boy could look around the corner.

The two teens were roughly around their age, and clearly siblings. The girl's Ekans was advancing on the man curled on the ground. His arms were curled over his head protectively, his lab coat stained with dirt.

"Looks like we have guests, Liv," the boy said, pulling out his own Pokéball.

"What the hell are you doing? You can't attack a person with a Pokémon."

"We need the fossil sample, and he has it. Unfortunately, he's not being very agreeable, so we have to get it by any means necessary," Liv said, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

"Leave him alone."

"Unfortunately, I can't do that."

"Leave him alone," Caroline repeated.

"What are you going to do about it?" Luke asked.

Caroline let out her Charmander in response, and Klaus followed with his Pikachu, knowing that Squirtle might accidentally hit Charmander with a water attack if it wasn't careful. Luke sent out a Koffing, and Liv's Ekans slithered to stand beside it, its fangs bared.

"Use Ember on Ekans," Caroline ordered, and with that, the battle began, both sets of trainers yelling orders at their Pokémon.

Charmander had already opened its mouth to spit fire at Ekans, but the snake slithered out of the way with a surprising amount of speed, its mouth opening to show the gleaming arch of its pointed fangs.

Pikachu darted towards Koffing, its cheeks crackling with electricity as it shot a bolt of lightning straight at the other Pokémon. Koffing let out a low rattled breath when the electricity hit, but as soon as Pikachu ended the move, it breathed out a thick black smog that obscured Klaus's vision, his eyes watering.

He heard Caroline cough next to him, and looked at her to see that she'd pulled the cloth of her shirt over her nose. He recalled Pikachu and sent out Beedrill. The Pokémon beat at the smoke with its wings, dispersing it easily, before diving at Ekans, its stingers dripping venom.

Charmander took advantage of Ekans attempting to escape Beedrill's attack, launching itself at the snake and breathing a small stream of flame at it.

Ekans cried out in pain, leaning to bite Charmander but missing, and Beedrill stabbed its flesh with its stingers. There was a burst of red light as Liv called Ekans back in its ball.

"We have to get out of here," Luke said frantically as he recalled his Koffing (clearly having decided to surrender), and they both took a final glance at the fossils the scientist was guarding before running away.

"Are you okay?" Caroline asked, running over to the man, uncapping her canteen and offering him water.

"Yeah. Thank you so much. That was terrifying," he said before taking large gulps of water, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

"What was that about?" Enzo demanded, and the scientist sighed, taking another sip of water before speaking.

"I'm on a research team that's been trying to excavate the fossils of extinct Pokémon. We just managed to dig up a few of them, and I came back today to clean them and take them back to the lab."

"Why does Team Gemini want them?" Klaus asked. "You said they were making some sort of army?"

The scientist capped Caroline's water bottle and handed it back. "Well, in a matter of speaking, yes. We only just found out that one of our scientists, Dr. Maxfield, was a member of Team Gemini and had been feeding them information. Apparently, they're planning on doing experiments to genetically alter Pokémon to make them overly aggressive and much stronger in battle. I'm not sure what the use for them would be other than war."

"That's terrible," Caroline said quietly.

The scientist nodded, clambering to his feet and looking at the fossils. "Unfortunately I don't think I can take them back to the lab now. They'll just send more members to steal them, and all of our equipment would get damaged if it turned violent."

"So what are you going to do with them?" Caroline asked curiously, cautiously moving to inspect the fossils.

"Do you three want them?"

"Beg pardon?" Klaus asked incredulously.

What would they possibly do with rocks that contained remains of extinct Pokémon? Use them as paperweights?

"You can take them if you do. There's a lab on Cinnabar Island that might be able to use them, actually. There's a level seven gym there as well, if you end up gaining the first six badges."

"Oh, we will," Caroline said, sounding almost insulted that the scientist doubted her abilities, and the man laughed.

"Right, then. So, there's the Dome Fossil and the Helix Fossil."

"What's the difference?" Klaus asked, moving closer to look at the markings.

"I suspect that the Dome Fossil contains the genetic material of the extinct Pokémon Kabuto, and the Helix Fossil has the same for Omanyte."

"What are the types?" Klaus asked.

"Both are Rock and Water."

"All right. Well, ladies first, sweetheart," Klaus said, gesturing to the fossils, and Caroline frowned.

"What about Enzo?"

"Neither of them are poison-type, gorgeous, and I'm not going to be in the Pokémon League. Might be a good advantage to have a Pokémon no-one knows much about. You could take them by surprise."

"Okay. Um, I guess I'll take the Helix Fossil."

The scientist nodded and handed it to her, giving Klaus the Dome fossil. "I should stay here and clean up the equipment before I go back to the Pewter Museum, but if you're ever in the area, I'd love for you to stop by. Thank you again for your help. I don't know what would have happened..."

"It's fine," Caroline quickly assured him. "I'm glad we were here."

The scientist gave them a small smile, and Enzo pulled out the map again. "Hey mate, do you know how long it'll be until we get to the exit?"

The scientist nodded. "It's only about a fifteen minute walk. Just go that way and then hang a right, and you'll be at the mouth of the cave. After that, follow the path."

"Thanks."

"No, thank _you_."

They said goodbye and walked toward the direction the scientist had indicated, and they blinked at the sudden sunlight once they'd found the exit before clambering clumsily down the uneven mountain path to the evenly-paved road below.

"Wait, stop," Enzo said as Caroline and Klaus prepared to mount their bikes, turning to a nearby rustling bush.

"What?" Caroline asked, turning to see Enzo sending out a Spearow.

"Spearow, go see what's behind the tree."

The Spearow chirped, flapping its wings clumsily to go behind the bush, and a screech sounded as it jumped back, an Ekans hissing at it.

"Spearow, use Fury Attack."

Spearow batted its wings furiously, its beak moving to snap at Ekans, which dodged before rearing back to strike. Spearow dug its scaled claw into the snake's chest, scratching, and Ekans hissed louder as Enzo threw a Pokéball to catch it.

Spearow chirped, preening its ruffled feathers as the Pokéball shook before the tone sounded that indicated Enzo had successfully caught the Ekans.

"Well, three down, eleven to go," Enzo said cheerfully, putting his new Ekans in his bag.

"There are more than fourteen poison types," Caroline pointed out, and Enzo smirked.

"Well, yes, but I just need to catch them before they evolve. All I need is for my Pokédex to show that I caught them. I don't need an Ekans and an Arbok, I just need to have an Arbok and be able to show that I've caught the Ekans. Anyway, shall we continue?"

Caroline nodded, hopping back on her bike, and Klaus followed, stopping Enzo and Caroline a few minutes later when he saw a Sandshrew running through the grass on the side of the road.

He sent out his Squirtle. "Use Water Gun," he said, and his Pokémon spat a harsh jet of water at the Sandshrew, making it stop and shake to try to get the water off.

It turned to them, claws digging into the dirt as it began to burrow underground, but Squirtle was too fast for it, darting to tackle it to the ground away from the hole it had dug. They rolled around, claws poking at the other Pokémon's skin, and Klaus had to wait before he had a clear shot at the Sandshrew before he sent out a Pokéball to capture it.

Before he could call Squirtle back, it started glowing, and he grinned as it finished its transformation into Wartortle before returning it to its Pokéball.

After twenty minutes of biking, his new Sandshrew securely stored in his bag, they finally entered Cerulean City. Klaus was honestly already exhausted, despite his watch telling him that it was barely half-one, and all he wanted to do was sleep. Enzo stopped just inside the border, nodding to the gym that was down the block.

"This is where I leave you for the moment, I think."

"I thought you were coming with us?"

"Calm down, gorgeous. I said for the moment," Enzo said teasingly. "Just text me when you win your battles, yeah?"

"Okay," she said, turning to Klaus. "Let's go to the Pokémon Center, and then we can find a hotel. I am ninety-nine percent sure that if you asked me to murder Elena in exchange for a shower, I totally would."

"I'd murder her whether it would get me a shower or not," Klaus muttered, and Caroline laughed.

They went to the Pokémon Center, waiting their turn for a nurse to help them with the large machine that could check a Pokémon's health and help it recover while it was still in its Pokéball.

He snuck glances at her as they walked to the nearest hotel a half hour later. She was talking excitedly about their upcoming gym battle, wondering aloud which Pokémon she should use, barely pausing for breath. He held open the lobby door for her, and she gave him a nod and smile before walking up to the front desk.

"Good afternoon," the woman said with a smile.

"Hi, we'd like to stay here for the next two days."

"All right. How many rooms?" the woman asked, her mouse clicking as she pulled something up on her computer, looking up at them expectantly.

Caroline gave him an anxious sideways glance so quickly that if he hadn't been looking at her expression so intently he would have missed it, and he wasn't sure whether to be annoyed or relieved when he heard her answer.

* * *

 **A/N:** Please let me know what you thought! I'm so excited to see your reactions. What do you think about Caroline's reasons for not wanting to date Klaus? Do you like the friendship growing with Klaus and Caroline and Enzo? What do you think about Team Gemini's plan? Please let me know what you think! Reviews give me motivation, and I tend to update faster when I feel like people are interested.

You can catch me on tumblr at thetourguidebarbie, which is where I put most of my news about updates (and other fun things).

Hugs!  
-Angie


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